BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1017

By: Martinez

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding the prevalence of food insecurity among Texas families, particularly in certain regions. It has been noted that hunger may have a range of adverse consequences for children in addition to lower academic performance, including language and physical developmental impairments and social and behavioral problems. C.S.H.B. 1017 seeks to address these concerns by requiring a campus with a certain proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches to operate a food pantry program.   

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1017 amends the Education Code to require a public school district or open-enrollment charter school to require a campus in which 70 percent or more of the students attending the campus are eligible for enrollment in the national school lunch program of free or reduced-price lunches to donate food to a nonprofit organization to be distributed to students at such a campus. The bill exempts a district from such a requirement if the applicable campus does not have a significant amount of surplus food to donate as determined by the district or donates food to an alternative program operated to address hunger issues in the district in which the campus is located. The bill applies beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1017 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes from 50 percent to 70 percent the minimum percentage of students at a campus that are eligible for the national school lunch program of free or reduced-price lunches that triggers the requirement for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to require such a campus to donate food to a nonprofit organization to be distributed to students at the campus. The substitute includes an exemption from that requirement for a district if the applicable campus meets certain conditions.